Kamala Harris' Hair Transformation Over The Years

Kamala Harris made headlines as the first woman and Black person to serve as California attorney general and first Black female presidential nominee. However shallow as it is, she's also lauded for her hair, which is the envy of many and the subject of countless beauty posts. Stylists and bloggers pour over pics of Harris' hair from college grad to Democratic powerhouse. And social media lit up in August 2024 as commenters flocked to discuss Harris' tan suit at the 2024 DNC, as well as her glossy new 'do. "Hair is looking absolutely fabulous," one fan raved on X, formerly Twitter.

There's an equal fascination with Harris' style. She's been praised for redefining political power dressing and using clothing to make statements. People have pondered what Harris' signature pearls signify (a nod to her sorority days) and questioned the symbolism of the white Carolina Herrera suit she wore for her 2020 V.P. victory speech (a tribute to the suffragettes).

Then, there was the great "silk press" debate. Did Harris iron or not iron? That was the question, and she answered it in a June 2023 interview with Keke Palmer. "I don't use a curling iron; it's too much heat, so I use a round brush," Harris shared, sending Black Twitter into meltdown. Well, that matter's finally settled, but there's still plenty to discuss. Can we talk about Harris' unrecognizable throwback photo of her short and edgy protest march mane? And what about her cute-as-a-button little girl braids? Her hair has certainly gone through a transformation over the years. 

There's undoubtedly more attention on Kamala Harris' hair than on any of her predecessors and peers (except for Donald Trump, albeit for entirely different reasons). Ama Kwarteng wrote about the "politics" of Harris' hair in an October 2020 article for Cosmopolitan. "For Black women, it's never been 'just hair.' It's linked to our identity, culture, and creative expression," she shared, explaining, "Our hair also allows us to shape-shift, glide from one space to the next."

Perhaps because of that cultural significance, Harris is willing to discuss her hair, unlike others who find the subject of style and beauty frivolous. Or maybe it's because Harris' hair is so awesome. Either way, she had no issue discussing and sharing pics of her mane transformation in an April 2024 interview with Cocoa Butter.

Harris started at the beginning, talking about her childhood battle of the braids. "As long as I can remember, my mother would part our hair down the middle and put it in two tight braids," she shared. "I wanted to wear it out, and it's so funny because I would go to school, and you know, she would have put it in the two braids, and then as soon as I got to school, I would take the braids out." Harris admitted she'd have friends rebraid her hair before heading home so her mom would be none the wiser. Still, "The braids were definitely the look for most of my childhood," Harris said.

Kamala Harris really embraced the mean and moody tween angst look. She shared a picture of herself and her little sister, Maya Harris, as young girls in an October 2020 video in which she reacted to old photos. In the pic, the siblings sit back to back, with Maya rocking a red headscarf and Kamala tied back hair. "We clearly were wearing bell bottoms at the time," Kamala said, laughing. "And as you can see, I went through a growing spurt, so my mother took the hem out the pants."

Kamala's childhood was filled with upheaval. When she was 12, her mom, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, upped sticks from California and moved with Kamala and Maya to Montreal, Canada. Not surprisingly, it made for quite a culture shock.

"The thought of moving away from sunny California in February, in the middle of the school year, to a French-speaking foreign city covered in 12 feet of snow was distressing," Kamala wrote in her 2019 memoir, "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey," sharing that her mom had strived to make the transition as painless as possible. "My mother tried to make it sound like an adventure, taking us to buy our first down jackets and mittens, as though we were going to be explorers of the great northern winter," Kamala wrote. "But it was hard for me to see it that way."

Coco Chanel reportedly decreed, "A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life." That was certainly the case for Kamala Harris, whose college years big chop resulted in a change that set her on her future path in life. After transforming her hair into a classic '80s short back and sides curly up-mop, the legal student became politically active and started participating in protests and marches in earnest.

Harris opened up about what motivated the style' do-over in her April 2024 interview with Cocoa Butter. "Well, it was just easy," she explained. "Instead of having, you know, to deal with the amount of time that it takes to do your own hair or get it done, which I really couldn't afford to do, it just was easy when I was in college. I just didn't want to have to put that kind of time into worrying about my hair."

She expanded further while talking about the now-iconic mean and moody picture of her taken during her Howard days, sharing that it perfectly encapsulated her too-cool-for-school student persona. "So, this is a photograph when I was joining my sorority during a particularly active week in front of Rankin Chapel, that's where we are here. Where we would go every Sunday for services," Harris said in a video posted on her YouTube channel. "One of my names was 'C-Cubed,' for cool, calm, and collected."

Kamala Harris' district attorney 'do forever cemented her place in glossy hair history. It also kicked off numerous debates, such as speculation on whether it's real or a wig, arguments over her decision to rock a straight style, and discussions about why people are discussing Harris' hair in the first place. Natasha Marsh weighed in on the latter in a July 2024 article for PopSugar.

"I get that if you've never experienced hair discrimination, wondering why Harris wears her hair straight might not be a big deal to you. But understand that just because it isn't your lived experience doesn't mean it's not discrimination," Marsh wrote. "Our hair has been marked as 'unacceptable' for so long and by not being OK with the Vice President's hairstyle, you are indirectly saying how she chooses to wear her hair should not be her choice."

Still, it continues to be a big deal, as evidenced in the comments about her Cocoa Butter hair reflection interview. "how did she get her tightly curled hair as a child, so straight? more than just a round brush? (Like Meghan Markle who grew up with frizzy hair but now very straight). what are they using?" a curious viewer pondered. "I just wanted to know if she is wearing a hair piece," another admitted.

When Kamala Harris strode onto the stage to accept the presidential candidate nomination at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on August 22, her hair almost stole the show. Harris' mane was its usual glossy self but with the added bonus of honey-blonde highlights that glittered and shone. This, for some reason, caused consternation for some of X's white Trumpsters. "If Kamala Harris is so proud to be black, why does she have blonde highlights?" Lady MAGA USA demanded to know. "Many black women do. Next stupid question..." a commenter replied.

Many Black women are also keen to cop Harris' luscious locks. Self-professed "healthy hair doctor" Tiffany Posh told USA Today that clients have been flocking to her Columbia, Maryland salon recently, desperate for the "presidential" look. "I've been doing silk presses for years. My clients have already always had the 'presidential hair,'" Posh explained, sharing that Harris' high profile hair is now "bringing attention to other people, and they want to have that prestige, as well."

Meanwhile, TikTok is jam-packed full of video tutorials on how to achieve Harris' immaculate mane, breakdowns of her daily styling routine, and tributes to the terrific tresses.